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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chip · rule · band · vault · shower · wax · ground · wound

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. band — a ring
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. shower — rain
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. ground — a position
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. ground — crushed
  12. chip — to eat
  13. rule — government
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. chip — for betting
  18. vault — a safe
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com